NFL offseason wish list: Oakland Raiders

Welcome to our fantasy football wish lists where we’re going through each NFL team and listing three things we’d love to see them do this offseason for fantasy reasons (but also real football reasons).

Stick with Derek Carr

Trading Derek Carr to me seems like making a move for the sake of making a move, which, don’t get me wrong, is 100% Jon Gruden’s MO. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Carr is on a different football team come September but I’m not fully sure that’s the best idea. Carr has been an above average quarterback since entering the league (15th in Pro Football References approximate value) and has shown flashes of being a franchise signal caller. Remember just two seasons ago when we were all aboard the Carr MVP train? I understand Kyler Murray is an exciting player and wanting to just cut bait and start over, but it seems foolish to me to use a high draft pick on a position you already have rather than addressing any other numerous holes in your roster.

Trade for Antonio Brown

Let’s make this happen captain. From a fantasy perspective, Oakland isn’t my number one destination for AB—that place is San Francisco but it seems the 49ers are going to be a bunch of lame asses and not pull the trigger—but the thought of AB and Gruden interacting on a regular basis more than makes up for that. Plus add a little Marshawn Lynch in the pot! Can we just make the Raiders this year’s Hard Knocks team? (There’s no way this is going to happen. The NFL is saving that card for when the Raiders move to Vegas to get the people pumped!) Fantasy wise, AB is going to get his numbers and he gives Carr, who I’ve just hitched my horse and buggy to, a Hall of Fame receiver to throw to. (Added bonus, AB can burn out with the Raiders for a year, just to pull a Randy Moss, get traded to the Patriots and go crazy.)

For the love of God take a pass rusher 4th overall

This rookie class boasts a lot of elite defensive talent, particularly guys who play on the line and can get after the quarterback. No team was worse at getting after the QB last year than the Raiders. Sorry, I feel like that sentence was letting the Raiders get off easy. The Patriots and Giants were tied for 31st in the NFL in sacks with 30. The Raiders, team number 32 on the list, had 13. THIRTEEN. This is why I said it’s not worth spending your top 5 pick on a quarterback when you’ve already got a quarterback in a defensive heavy draft when your defense sacked the quarterback less than once per game. So Gruden, do the right thing and go add a guy like Nick Bosa or Josh Allen.